Azeem Hafeez

Raja Azeem Hafeez (born 29 July 1963) is a Pakistani former cricketer who played 18 Test matches for the national team from 1983 to 1985.^[1]

Azeem Hafeez

Personal information
Born	(1963-07-29) 29 July 1963 (age 62) Jhelum, Pakistan
Batting	Left-handed
Bowling	Left-arm fast-medium
International information
National side	Pakistan
Test debut (cap 95)	14 September 1983 v India
Last Test	09 February 1985 v New Zealand
ODI debut (cap 44)	10 September 1983 v India
Last ODI	10 March 1985 v India
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC Matches 18 15 85 Runs scored 134 45 923 Batting average 8.37 15.00 11.39 100s/50s 0/0 0/0 0/1 Top score 24 15 69 Balls bowled 4,351 719 13,793 Wickets 63 15 235 Bowling average 34.98 39.06 33.32 5 wickets in innings 4 0 9 10 wickets in match 0 0 1 Best bowling 6/46 4/22 7/54 Catches/stumpings 1/– 3/– 17/–
Source: Cricinfo, 26 August 2018

A left-arm fast bowler, Hafeez was born with two fingers missing on his right (non-bowling) hand.^[2][3] Hafeez could never establish a regular place for himself in the Pakistan team, predominantly because of the strength of its fast bowling at that time, anchored by Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.^[4]

Biography

Raja Azeem Hafeez was born on 29 July 1963 in Jhelum. Despite being born with fingers on his right hand, Hafeez became a successful swing bowler.^[5]

Hafeez began his career at the inter-collegiate and club levels in Karachi, including in the Nazimabad Super Cup.^[5] He played for Pak Crescent, a leading Karachi club, and was effective in batting and fielding despite his physical limitation.^[5]

His performances in Under-19 matches against Australia led to his entry into first-class cricket with Allied Bank under the captaincy of Shoaib Habib.^[5]